New Poll Shows Eighty Percent of Floridians Support Official English

[Harold F. Schiffman]

New Poll Shows Eighty Percent of Floridians Support Official English

    Four-in-Five Likely Voters Desire Common Language Policy for Federal
                                 Government

    WASHINGTON, May 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four-in-five Florida
voters support making English the official language of the United States,
including 64 percent who strongly support such a measure according to a
new poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. The survey found that the
overwhelming majority of Florida residents want the federal government to
conduct business in English, including strong majorities of Democrats,
Republicans and Independents. The survey of 625 likely voters was
conducted May 18-22, 2007 and has a margin of error of plus or minus four
percent.  "Florida residents continue to have an expectation that new
immigrants are on the road to learning English, and they expect that their
government will promote English learning among newcomers to the United
States," said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. "This has
been our history for decades, and it will continue to serve as the model
to assimilate future generations to this country."

    Efforts to make English the official language of the United States are
pending in both the House and the Senate. In the House, H.R. 997, the
English Language Unity Act of 2007, has more than 100 bi-partisan
co-sponsors and ranks as one the most widely supported measures in the
110th Congress. In the Senate, Sen. James Inhofe has introduced S. 1335,
the S.I. Hayakawa Official Language Act. Sen. Inhofe has also introduced
an amendment to the pending immigration bill that would give the United
States a national language policy.  At the state level, 30 states have
made English their official language, including three states in the last
seven months. Floridians passed official English by popular referendum in
1988 with 84 percent of voters casting favorable ballots on the measure.
This remains one of the highest margins of passage for any initiative in
Florida election history.

    "Things may have changed in the last 20 years, but the support of
Floridians for official English legislation has not wavered," added
Mujica. "As the 2008 presidential candidates court Florida voters, I hope
that they are aware of the strong support for official English legislation
in the Sunshine State."  U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and
largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the
unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in
1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. can
be found on the web at: http://www.usenglish.org.


 SOURCE U.S. English, Inc.

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